Water View?

Check out Google Images for “Burrowing Owls & water” and among all the dozens of BuOw photos you’ll maybe find a handful with water in the picture. None of my myriad shots of Wildhorse Golf Course’s owls have a glimmer of the wet stuff. Yet this satellite photo reveals a lake and creek well within hunting range of the many burrows hidden within the same shot.
 Though BuOws will drink when it’s hot if water is available, they can get all the water they need from their food. End of story? Not quite.
Like people, Burrowing Owls can do just fine living away from water, but they often pick waterfront property when they can get it. Why? Probably it’s multifaceted and variable. Example. BuOws love levee banks - good visibility, lots of squirrel holes and nearby farmlands with insects and sometimes mice, too. Is it incidental that levees are also right next to water? And why do Burrowing Owls in the “south bay” (near San Jose, CA) keep coming back to congested lands surrounding the bay and ignore suitable rangelands further away?
 The variety of possible BuOw-munchable morsels grows when you add water. If you’re choosing between several sites, take a look at a satellite photo. It may magically reveal which area is likely have the best hunting. Burrowing Owls defend a nesting territory, but they’ll share their “grocery store.” Sites richer in prey may attract and support many more owls than leaner ones.
I don’t find any ironclad answers, but why fight it? You might as well sweeten your site by putting it near water when you can.

Burrowing Owls not only hunt on the wing; they may chase down prey on foot!

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